Uzbekistan Drafts Law on Prevention Inspectors' Status Amid MIA Reform

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.uz) — President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev hosted a working presentation of comprehensive proposals aimed at radically improving the activities of prevention inspectors, optimizing the public safety system, and modernizing professional training for law enforcement agencies.

The main vector of the reform is declared to be a transition from formal statistical comparison of crime rates to a real assessment of the situation on the ground. The new criteria will focus on the level of public trust, the prevention of repeat offenses, and the effectiveness of targeted work with at-risk groups.

Within the framework of creating a "system that serves the population," the reform plans a deep integration of the activities of the road patrol (DPS), patrol and post (PPS), and security services. Their tasks will be combined into a single operational response system. To achieve this, part of the traffic safety functions will be transferred to the PPS and security units, while the DPS will receive authority over maintaining public order.

The Head of State emphasized that more than 10,000 prevention inspectors serving in 9,000 mahallas (neighborhoods) across the country represent an immense force, but they are currently overburdened. In practice, they are assigned approximately 50 additional duties that do not fall within their core competence, which prevents them from effectively solving citizens' problems locally.

To legally establish a new operational model, a draft law "On the Status of the Prevention Inspector of Internal Affairs Bodies" has been developed. The document clearly defines the legal status of the officer as an authorized official conducting pre-investigation checks and crime prevention within an assigned territory.

The draft law strictly prohibits any interference in the inspector's professional activities or the assignment of third-party tasks. Inspectors will gain the right to independently choose prevention methods, issue mandatory orders, and access the information systems of state bodies free of charge. Government agencies will be required to respond to an inspector's inquiries within 10 days.

Concurrently, accountability to citizens will be strengthened: inspectors will report quarterly, and if more than 50% of local residents express a lack of confidence in an inspector, that officer will be sent for re-attestation to check their suitability for the position. The law will also strengthen social and legal protections for inspectors, obliging local hokimyats (administrations) to provide officers with service housing, and will introduce liability for obstructing their lawful work.

Another major component of the reform is the radical modernization of the educational system. A transformation of the University of Public Safety is planned, increasing the full-time enrollment quota to 600 people and distance learning to 300. The university will establish specialized departments to train inspectors for work with women, youth, minors, and at public marketplaces. The curriculum will introduce disciplines such as profiling, risk analysis, UAV operations, robotics, family mediation, and open-source intelligence (OSINT). To train sergeants and officers with specialized secondary education, a system of dual vocational education will be introduced in technical colleges in Samarkand and Namangan.

The Academy of the Ministry of Internal Affairs will also undergo transformation, reorganized on the principle of an "education–research–practice" cycle. It will establish specialized schools focusing on cybercrime combat, operational-search activities, and public safety. Cadets at the academy will study under a three-year modular matrix with a strong emphasis on practical application and crisis psychology.

The President fully approved the presented concepts and issued directives for their immediate practical implementation.